Excelling as a team Wednesday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers made up for that Christmas Day loss to the Miami Heat with a 113-93 romp at The Q.
Seven Cavaliers scored in double digits, led by Timofey Mozgov’s season-high 20 points and LeBron James — who flirted with a triple double of 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in 31 minutes.
James refused to call it a revenge game, as the Heat were not at full strength and the Cavaliers are a far different team from the one which played in South Florida seven weeks ago.
Miami (22-29) was without Dwyane Wade, who is nursing a sore hamstring. Cleveland was at its fast-break best to start the game, racing out to a 52-26 lead with 8:18 left in the second quarter. However the Heat mounted a 22-7 run to trim the deficit to 11 at the half.
Cleveland (33-21) came back out swinging, increasing its lead to 21. Miami went on a 9-0 run to cut it to 12, but that’s as close as the Heat got. The Cavaliers spread the wealth, with seven players in double figures and shooting 56 percent for the game.
Mozgov was his intimidating self on defense and did an excellent job of finishing around the rim. He was the recipient of a couple of nice lob passes. The big man ended with a game-high 20 points (9-of-11 from the field), seven boards and two blocks.
Kyrie Irving included 15 points, four rebounds and six assists.
The Cavaliers claimed their 14th win in 15 games.
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